alex speier

Five Things We Learned: The Sox Found a New Leading Man

The Sox were 18-7 in the 25 games since they had shuffled the lineup and installed Dustin Pedroia in the leadoff spot while putting J.D. Drew behind him in the second spot. But that team success had come largely despite Pedroia’s struggles in the role: he had played in 24 of those games, hitting .214 with a .264 OBP and .565 OPS as the leadoff man.

The Sox could endure that sort of struggle while other members of the lineup were clicking. But as offensive futility spread like a virus up and down the lineup in recent days – the Sox having scored three or fewer runs in six of their prior 10 games entering Monday – a move seemed timely.

And so, Francona moved Pedroia down to the second hole that he occupied for most of his 2008 American League MVP season. Drew, meanwhile, moved up to the top spot in the order.

The results were almost instantaneous. Drew led off Monday’s 4-0 win against the Orioles (recap) with a triple (just the seventh extra-base hit to lead off a game for the Sox this year), and then scooted home when Pedroia singled back up the middle. Later, Drew capped the scoring by launching a two-run homer to right-center in the fourth. For the night, he had three hits while scoring two runs and driving in a pair. It was one of the most productive night’s by a Sox leadoff hitter this year.

So what was the secret to Drew’s success in that role on Monday? Apparently, it was ignorance.

“Honestly, I had no idea I was (hitting leadoff),” Drew said on the Post-Game Show after the victory. “I was walking off the field from batting practice. (Third-base coach DeMarlo Hale) said, ‘Hey – you’re swinging the bat good, like a good leadoff hitter.’ I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ He said, ‘You’re hitting leadoff.’ I was like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding. I had no idea.’

“I very seldom look up there,” Drew admitted. “I’ve been in the two-hole quite a bit here lately. Really, I don’t know where I’m at until game time most of the time.”

Pedroia, on the other hand, seemed both aware and relieved by his return to his most familiar lineup spot.

"I think I've been trying to do too much, and it backfires, especially when you have a lot of energy," Pedroia told reporters. "When you hit leadoff, you want to get on base so bad. And I'm a little bit of a hacker."

For a night, at least, the top of the Red Sox lineup seemed very much at home. That development served as the backdrop as four other lessons were digested on Monday:JON LESTER IS A BALTIMORE-SLAYING BEAST

The 25-year-old tossed seven shutout innings on Monday against the Orioles in which he allowed just five hits (all singles) and no walks while striking out eight. The outing reflected continued excellence, as Lester has allowed one or no runs in five of his last eight outings.

In six starts since May 31, he is now 4-1 with a 1.80 ERA. He is leading the majors in the past 30 days with 52 strikeouts (most in the majors) in just 40 innings. He has been, in a word, overpowering. The Orioles clearly had little idea what to do against him, with their lineup taking some of the ugliest swings imaginable against the pitcher, particularly while flailing at a nasty curve.

Of course, that is nothing new for the Orioles, who have seen Lester at his best. Lester improved to an astonishing 8-0 with a 2.18 ERA in his career against Baltimore. Only three other active pitchers in the majors are undefeated with that many victories against a single club in their active careers:

Jonathan Papelbon had not even pitched a big-league inning before members of the Red Sox recognized that he had a chance to distinguish himself. Minor-league pitching coach Al Nipper encouraged Papelbon to believe that he could break Roger Clemens’ franchise records.

Perhaps because of those sorts of conversations, the right-hander arrived in the majors and, prior to his first appearance on July 31, 2005, gave teammates the impression that he was not about to shy from any challenge.

"(Papelbon) came in (the clubhouse) and I asked, 'Are you scared?' He said, 'Hell, no.' That's when I thought, 'Okay, we might have something,'" former Sox pitcher David Wells once recalled of Papelbon’s first appearance. "He has a chance to be a (bleeping) superstar."

Less than four years later, Papelbon has fulfilled that expectation. He is a three-time All-Star, has the lowest career ERA (1.85) of any pitcher in baseball history since the end of World War I (minimum 200 innings) and has been a singular force at the end of games.

On Monday, Papelbon was summoned to preserve a 4-0 lead with two on and two out. As he had 131 times before, Papelbon closed out the win, getting a pop-up to shallow left from Orioles catcher Matt Wieters on which outfielder Jason Bay made a game-ending diving catch.

Papelbon’s 132nd career save tied him with Bob Stanley for the most in franchise history. With the same brashness that greeted his journey through the Sox’ minor-league system and then his entry into the majors, the 28-year-old closer pronounced the accomplishment a starting point for the fulfillment of his goals.

“It’s the beginning of my career to try to be something great,” Papelbon told reporters. “(The Red Sox saves record is) something I thought about last offseason, and hopefully it’s something when I’m done with my career it’ll be one milestone I was able to accomplish. Obviously I want to go for a lot more.”
THE SOX OFFENSE IS STRUGGLING

When four runs represent an outburst, then something is clearly amiss with a team’s offense.

Even so, the broader view for the Red Sox lineup is fairly promising. On the year, the Sox are averaging 5.2 runs per game, fourth most in baseball (though, notably, third in the A.L. East). The team is averaging 5.1 runs per game in June, fourth best in the majors.

But it’s almost puzzling that the team has been able to achieve that sort of success. While he was atop the lineup, Pedroia was merely one of several members of the club to struggle.

All of that suggests that the coming couple of weeks will be significant for evaluating the Sox’ offense. While the team has a remarkable degree of pitching depth, the same cannot be said for its lineup.

Lowell is out at least until Friday while recovering after fluid was drained from his right hip and he received an injection to ease the discomfort in that area. There is a chance that he will land on the disabled list, and it remains fair to wonder what kind of production he might offer over the duration of a season in which he is still recovering from surgery.

Jed Lowrie, who might have represented an option to play third base in Lowell’s absence, remains slowed in his minor-league rehab. Following a surgery without known precedent among baseball players, it remains to be seen what kind of offensive performer he might be down the stretch. Meanwhile, the Sox lack minor-league infielders in the upper levels who can provide reliable thump.

As such, even though the team continues to win, it may be compelled to make a deal for a bat in July, particularly if the team’s recent offensive struggles become more pronounced.
J.D. DREW CAN’T HIT FOR THE CYCLE…BUT HE HAS A SENSE OF HUMOR ABOUT IT

Entering Monday, Drew had come within one hit of the cycle on 15 different occasions in his career. He’d missed the cycle by a double four times, a triple nine times and a homer on two occasions.

So, when Drew dug in at the plate in the eighth inning armed with a single, triple and homer, he had little doubt about what he wanted to do.

“There's not a player alive that wouldn't know that situation,” Drew told reporters. “I was just going to hit the ball and run straight to second, right through the middle of the infield, if I had to."

Instead, Drew grounded out against reliever Chris Ray. And so his brother Stephen Drew, who hit for the cycle last Sept. 1, remains in possession of familial bragging rights.

More importantly to the Sox, however, is the fact that Drew continues to reach base. He now has a .433 OBP in June, fourth best in the American League among hitters with at least 50 plate appearances.

Greg and Chris talk with Mike Reiss from ESPN Boston in hour 2 of NFL Sunday to discuss a variety of offseason happenings with the Pats and throughout the league. Greg and Chris also get into the NFL Draft and where Mariota and Winston will go.

Mike Reiss calls the guys to talk about the offseason news for the Pats. He talks about the Pats/Jets tampoering fiasco, free agency, where he sees Ridley and Connolly ending up, if the Patriots would be interested in Reggie Wayne and more.

In the first hour of the show, Greg and Chris discuss the news coming out of the owners' meetings this week and rule changes. Belichick's blow-up over the league not wanting to spend on endzone cameras was well documented and the guys react. They also talk about the Jets ridiculous tampering charges, free agents still lingering out there, where Stevan Ridley will land and the RB position in New England. Dickerson and Price briefly discuss the adventures of Tom Brady before being joined by WEEI.com's Mike Petraglia to talk all things Pats in the offseason.

Flannery joins Mut to break down the Isaiah Thomas trade to Boston and what it means for the Celtics this season and in the future. Paul also chats with Mut about the other deals that happened at the NBA's trading deadline

Mut, Tomase, and Bradford kick things off talking about Shane Victorino taking offense to people reading into some comments he made about trading for Cole Hamels. They also discuss Blake Swihart and how soon he could be up if Christian Vazquez starts the season on the DL.

Joe Kelly joined the Hot Stove show where he talked about being ready for his next spring training start after a biceps ailment forced him out of his last outing, he talks about his NCAA brackets and how teammate Wade Miley has a perfect bracket still.

Peter Chiarelli joined the Sunday Skate crew to talk about the Bruins playoff push heading into the final handful of games of the regular season. Chiarelli talked about avoiding some of the overly negative feedback he gets while realizing that the team does have real issues. He discusses what went down at the trade deadline and if he was happy with the outcome, Lucic having a down year and underperforming, the salary cap and if he considers it as big of an issue as it's been made out to be and what the future holds for the team.

It's a big hour #2 for the Sunday Skate dudes - they talk about the B's defenseman and what the future looks like at that position, with both moves the team can make and younger guys in the AHL. They also get into the Bruins philosophy on bringing guys up and sending them back down and how players deal with that. Finally, the boys are joined by Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli to discuss EVERYTHING.

The Sunday Skate crew gets the show going discussing the Bruins big, impressive victory over the NY Rangers yesterday. What can you take from that game? According to LB - Lyndon Byers - who called the guys from the road, not a lot. LB drops a dime on what was going on with the Rangers yesterday. DJ and Joe discuss Claude's lines and groupings and the importance of Ryan Spooner. They also get into Lucic, his contributions this year and if he can turn things around.

Wrestlemania was a trial run for Super Bowl 50. More Christian dog stuff. Superintendent in Chief William Gross of the BPD deals with some idiotic protesters after the fatal shooting in Roxbury on Friday night.

Shawn Thornton is now a member of the Panthers, who come to town tomorrow night. Thornton spoke about Claude Julien's control of the Bruins locker room, and his own team playing his former team on Tuesday night.